All Dreams Must End
by Shadow of a Fallen Angel
Summary: Sequel to Dreams. You don't have to read that one first, though it is advisable. All Dreams Must End, but how soon? And for what reasons? Read to find out . Rated T for possible future language...
1. Continuing the Dream

ADME 1

**A/N: SO here I am again with a SEQUEL. This is my first sequel too. I asked, and you told me it was a good idea so here we go. Now, I'm not sure this will go so make sure you let me know ^.^ Oh and this one is also first person perspective, not third. I thought it might help for you to get inside the characters head, and share their thoughts. **

We live in a world of paranoia. Everyone fears Kira, even the good fear him…that is to say me. I admit I revelled in it. I was cold, almost cruel in the way I passed judgement on the criminals, but Kira is justice.

I can say with absolute certainty that I was never like this. Only after my parents, Light and Yuuki, died did I take up the Death Note to finish my father's work. They were killed in a car accident, caused by a criminal in a getaway car. I was at home at the time. It was a year ago, and I have never forgotten. Perhaps I should have been sad, but no, I only felt anger, and that anger compelled me to become Kira, and continue the legacy.

* * *

I was walking past the park, watching all the people with disinterest. Disinterest, envy and pity. Envy because I would love to be normal like them, and I'd love nothing more than to have my parents back. Pity because unlike me, they were just puny humans, compared to my more god-like status.

I sat down on a bench, just watching the people passing me by, before tossing Ryuuk an apple and going home to carry out more justice on those who were evil. Did I believe myself to be evil, like some believed me to be? Of course I didn't.

I was walking past the hospital and someone bumped into me. I looked down at her. She somehow managed to catch my attention and she stared up at me. She had long, straight light brown hair and sparkling green eyes. Yes, they actually sparkled. She looked sick, I could see it. She was very pale and thin. I could make out the shape of her bones in most cases. Yet, despite her illness, she smiled a big smile before apologising and walking off.

I thought that was a very odd thing to do, and I would say, "But who was I to pass judgement?" but that wouldn't really work out.

It was just another day in a boring world. That's how life is for me. I see no beauty in it, only evil, and my mission to eradicate it. It was not necessarily a gloomy existence; it was just something to do. I find it almost hard to believe that I used to care once. I used to play among the flowers with my cautious mother standing watch, my father by her side. "Ichirou! Not too far! Watch where you're going! Please, _please_ be careful!" She used to say that a lot. I even laughed in spite of myself just remembering how panicky she could sometimes get.

That girl reminded me a bit of her. The way her eyes sparkled, the way she smiled even when she must know she was ill. Perhaps that's why that girl stood out now, a spot of colour against the grey of the rest of the world. I may be a boy, but I'm not ashamed to admit I miss my mother and father very, very much.

It would be a long time before I got to see that girl again, and when I saw her I would barely recognise her. She would be so much different.

**A/N: Wow the first chapter was really short. My apologies. The next one will be longer, I promise. Though the story as a whole will probably be shorter. **


	2. Ruri

**A/N: And so here we are with chapter two, mostly because I have no life outside of the computer. Sad really. Oh well. On with the story! **

It had been many months since my first encounter with that girl; the one that had reminded me so much of my mother. It was strange that I should see her here of all places, though it took me some time to realise it was her. Only when she looked up at me with those sparkling eyes did she become familiar.

I was in the supermarket. Yes, the supermarket - I need to live somehow - when I saw her. She was struggling with trying to reach something off the top shelf, so I got it down for her, and that was when she looked at me. "Thank-you so much!" She said with a full smile. She'd put on some weight since we last met. I'm not saying she was fat, by no means, but she looked healthy. Her skin even had more colour to it. "Don't worry about it." I said in a bored voice before walking off down the aisle. "Wait!" She called after me. I don't know what on earth compelled me to turn to her again, but I did. "I've seen you somewhere before, haven't I?" She asked with that stunning smile. I just shrugged. "Oh yeah that's right. I bumped into you at the hospital." So she remembered. I nodded my head once. I won't pretend I was interested in the conversation, if you could really call it that.

I don't even know how it happened myself, but soon I found myself agreeing to meet with her at the park. I later arrived home and wanted to slam my head hard against the wall. It felt almost _wrong_ to be so nice. I'd learned quite a while ago that I shouldn't trust anyone. What about this girl was so captivating that I was agreeing to go and meet her places?

* * *

So there I was, sitting on the park bench. She was sitting beside me with her eyes closed, her head tilted back toward the sky. She honestly looked happy with this boring little world. It goes to show how simple some people can really be. She was still wearing that idiotic smile, only it was a fainter one today.

She jumped up, practically in shock. I glanced over to the side where she was sitting. "I'm so sorry!" She honestly sounded displeased with herself. "I forgot to introduce myself!" I suppressed the urge to shake my head at her and laugh. I'd never seen someone overreact as much as her. "My name is Ruri Sakamoto. What's yours?"

"Ichirou Yagami." She looked at me with sympathy then. I couldn't help but wonder why but I never got the chance to ask before she spoke again. "It was your parents who died in the accident, wasn't it?" She asked and I nodded once to indicate this was true. "Look's like life has been cruel to the both of us then." I cast her another sideways glance and she launched into her life story, basically from the very beginning. I felt the strong urge to roll my eyes.

As she spoke I learned a great deal about her though, and even began to enjoy her company. I learned that she was in remission from cancer, which would explain how thin she had been when I'd seen her months before. She struck me as the kind of girl who could find pleasure in simply having the sun warm her face. It meant so much to her just to be alive that I soon found myself in awe of her.

She told me all kinds of things, from her favourite flowers to her favourite manga, and even recounted her favourite holiday. Then it was my turn to recount my life for her, and I left out a number of details, such as me being the most recent Kira. There was still a small force dedicated to finding me, though I must admit, they weren't doing very well. So far I'd managed to outsmart everyone who tried to catch me.

After a while she sighed. I'd hardly been paying attention to what she was saying but it was apparent to me that her sigh was a sad one. Apparently we were talking about Kira's way of passing judgement. Personally I thought there was nothing wring with it. "I wish Kira never existed." She said sadly.

"And why is that?"

"Can you feel the air around you?" She asked me suddenly serious. "It's so thick with fear, and all because of Kira. It makes it so much harder to enjoy and appreciate life. I miss the days where we could just run around and make mistakes without fear of being killed for something we might not have even done."  
I hadn't realised that she could be so deep, but naturally I disagreed on the inside with what she was saying. These people needed to be taught fear. They needed to be controlled. They needed to be taught that killing people, robbing banks and generally committing themselves to a life of crime was unacceptable. They needed to be taught justice, and that is exactly what I was doing.

I walked away sometime later with a heavy feeling pressing in on me. I later realised that this was the fear in the air. It was thick, but instead of hating it like she did I welcomed it. The people had learned from both my mother and father that Kira was something to fear and that was the way I intended to keep it.

**A/N: Ok so that chapter was kind of boring, but it was longer and hopefully it will get better, because now that I'm writing the darn thing I'm not very well going to give up on it, am I? **

**Oh well, It will get better, but I'm thinking it will probably only have about two or three more chapters in it. I don't think there's much else I could write on. **

**We'll see how we go. **


	3. Changes

**A/N: Ergh. Chapter 3. I've been trying to put this off cause it'll probably be wickedly lame. No, no, must think positive…that's hard when you're the eternal pessimist. Anyway. Like I said…or rather say…at the start of every chapter…I have no idea where this is going, though I have taken the liberty of trying to plan out the chapters more accordingly. Fingers crossed **

It was just any other day for me. Just another blend of useless grey and hopeless paranoia. You'd think that perhaps after meeting Ruri, I may have eased up on the judgement of criminals…well I hadn't. Who was a single girl to tell me, the godlike person that I am, what to do.

I woke up later today than I did normally, due to a faulty alarm clock. That does happen when clocks collide with walls…from across the other side of the room. After the usual boring routine of getting ready for school, I quickly ate some breakfast and caught the train. For how late I woke up, I still managed to get there early.

I took my seat at the back of the class. I could do whatever I wanted there and not get interrupted. I sometimes found this handy for carrying out judgements when I was stretched for time. By the time class had begun I was staring out the window. Why not really? That is until the teacher caught my attention.

"Class, we're welcoming back a student today, please be nice to her as she's been very ill recently and has been unable to attend school." And there she was. Blushing like a maniac of course, but there nonetheless. "There's a free seat up the back dear." Yes, that seat was next to me. Wonderful. True I enjoyed her company the other day, but I wasn't going to admit it.

Class dragged on as it usually does. I spoke to Ruri briefly here and there, but mostly she spent class facing forward, intensely focused. So much so that her tongue poked out to the side as she worked. It was….cute I suppose. Well I didn't really think so at first but soon I found myself staring at her much more than I should be.

When the bell finally rang for lunch she asked if she could spend the time with me. Seeing as how she hadn't been here in a long time and had forgotten everyone I couldn't refuse. That really does sound like a poor excuse.

Either way, we got to talking again. I wasn't expecting her to come here of all places and I let her know so. "Well, neither did I." She said with a look that suggested as though the very notion of being sent to this school surprised her. I didn't say anything in response. "So…have you gone here since the start?" She asked after a few minutes of silence that I didn't find particularly awkward. "Yes, I have. My father used to go here, and they both wanted to send me here. So, here I am." I replied with a shrug. I felt something then that perhaps I should have felt a long time ago. Sadness over the loss of my parents. I felt that pang of regret perhaps, while speaking to her…and I think it's reasonable to blame that on her. Since meeting her I've become much less numb. Much more…human. Not a zombie, though the girl is still the only blot of colour in this dull landscape.

I spent the rest of the day with her. It turned out she was in all of my classes. So typical, though by the end of the day I could actually say, or rather admit to the fact that I'd had something close to a friend for the first time since…well since the accident. Strange that after meeting her, the topic of my parents should become so much harder to discuss because of the pain it causes.

Over the passing weeks we grew closer, spending much more time together. I would even go to check ups at the hospital with her for moral support, though sometimes that did lead to embarrassing misunderstandings, and at the same time gave me some very interesting things to consider. Now I was happier than I had been since the accident, and I was finally able to move onward.

"You're being oddly merciful today." Ryuuk commented as I gave him another apple. That made what…six…today? I just shrugged. "Doesn't hurt to be nice sometimes…" Curse that girl. In a good way. Ugh being nice again. Though being nice is kinda…nice. No! No, it isn't. And these are only some of the conflicting emotions I've been dealing with. It would be safe to say that she'd brought out a change in me. For the better one would hope. I was even looking upon my victims with more mercy…except for murderers, and I'm sure you can understand why.

**Dun, dun, dun. Chapter three is down. Yes, finally finished, done, out of the way, gone. **

**This wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. ^.^**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed this more than I enjoyed writing it…cause that would be good. ^.^**


	4. Mistakes

**A/N: And here is chapter 4. Hopefully this one gets going nicely, I'll probably be wrapping the story up soon, unless my planning tells me I should carry it on further. **

**Keep a lookout for a new story though…**

**Ichirou: What, you're gonna abandon us?**

**Me: Nope. I've got something way more interesting up my sleeve now shush you! *smacks over the head with a Death Note***

**ON WITH THE FIC n.n**

Due to being so long without company I wasn't used to having Ruri around. A few times I was very close to making mistakes and letting slip my identity as Kira. For the most part I'd been able to cover up well. Today I would have to be especially careful. I'd invited Ruri over to tutor her. Being out of school so long addled her brains I'm sure of it. Or at least that was the excuse anyway.

When she arrived I showed her up to my room and grabbed some water and chocolate…or in my terms, brain food. She was just sitting in a desk chair when I got up there, twirling happily around in circles. Girls, I'll never understand them.

"Can you pass me those books Ruri-chan?" I asked seeing as how she was still sitting at the desk.

"Kay Ichirou-kun." She grabbed the books and passed them to me, swinging back around. Her eyes went wide and she pushed the chair back until it hit the desk. "What in the name of tomato sauce is that?!" She asked, pointing over my shoulder. Shit. Crap, crap, shit, crap. Oops. Her hand must have brushed over the Death Note, which had somehow made its way into the stack of school books, because when I followed her finger she was pointing directly at Ryuuk. "Hi." He said with a laugh, extracting a small half gasp half scream from poor Ruri. I just made a pretty big mistake there. "That's a shinigami." I clarified with a sigh. Her eyes went even wider, if it was possible, and I had a thought at what she was thinking. "He follows me around because of the Death Note. It's one of the rules or something." I shrugged. I wasn't as clear on the details of how it worked as my mother and father had been, but I'd known Ryuuk since I was very young. "What? What's a Death Note?" She asked, looking at Ryuuk with interest now rather than fear. I sighed. It was time to come clean.

"This is a Death Note." I said, pulling the book from the bottom of the pile and showing it to her. She extended a hand and took it, flipping through the pages. "And what does it do?" She asked. She was calmer than I expected her to be. It was almost as though we were talking about some mathematical formula. "Well, you write a name in it, and the person whose name is written in the book shall die. Within 40 seconds generally, if time of death or cause of death isn't specified." She looked at me strangely. It was almost as though she wanted to believe I was lying, but she knew it was truth. "Ruri-chan I… I am Kira." It was harder to confess this than it should have been, but given one of our earlier conversations and her obvious dislike for Kira I was expecting her to run out of the room.

We sat there staring at each other in silence for quite a while. "Well, aren't you supposed to be teaching me stuff?" She said with an awkward yet sincere smile. I nodded, stunned that she was still here, but I could tell she was trying to be very cautious around me.

She went home some time later, and I wasn't sure if I would see her again, because we didn't talk much during the few hours that I spent going over the things we were learning in class until she understood it all.

When she did leave I felt a terrible sort of…emptiness…I guess. It had really felt as if I'd lost something precious. Is this how I should have felt when my parents had died? Either way I didn't like the feeling in the slightest and wanted it to go away. "Damn it, damn it, damn it." I said, falling face first into my bed, my voice muffled by the pillow. "Well, you messed that one up didn't you?" Ryuuk said with another little laugh. I tossed an apple at his head to shut him up, then a whole bowl…that should keep him quiet for a while. I could just imagine him thinking his favourite line….humans are so interesting.

**A/N: Wheee another chapter out of the way. Hahahaha the story is going places now and that makes me happy. Happy, happy, happy. I might even write an extra chapter in Ruri's P.O.V as a special treat that's how happy I am. **

**SO review and tell me what you think and then I'll be even happier!**


	5. Rurivision

**A/N: Chapter 5 this story is all about Ruri! That's right, coming to you for the first time this sequel, is R.P.O.V, one chapter only folks! So enjoy it while it lasts ^_^**

R.P.O.V

It was exciting to be able to go back to school again, and even more exciting when I saw Ichirou-kun. I'd been in and out of hospitals here there and everywhere for a very long time now. It gets a bit annoying but at least I get to meet a lot of interesting people. That makes me smile, though it's kind of hard when I can't walk much or talk much but I just take life as it comes. Perhaps it comes from being so close to death all the time that I gain an appreciation for life.

I'm really happy now though because I've made a friend here. I haven't had a friend in a while because I've had to move around a lot. It's been hard, I won't lie, but it doesn't really bother me anymore. As long as I have something I can do, or someone to spend time with it'll be ok.

I was going over to Ichirou-kun's house today because he was helping me with my studies. I was finding it hard at school and he saw that and because he's so smart he offered to help me. That makes me smile too. I like to smile because if I can spread happiness to someone else it makes me forget my pain and it makes me happy too.

I wasn't expecting what happened there though. Sure I didn't like Kira, or rather what he was doing. To find out that Kira was Ichirou-kun…I felt a sharp stab of pain at that. Maybe it was because I trusted him so much and he didn't tell me. Well that was what I thought at first anyway, but the pain continued, it felt as though I was being drained. Even though I wasn't quite finished being tutored yet, I had to go.

I went straight home, I was really worried and it must have shown o my face because my mum, who looked very much like me, including the light brown hair and green eyes, asked me if something went wrong with out tutoring. "The pain…it's back." I said, not holding back the tears that were threatening to fall. I saw my mother's sad expression and immediately a comforting smile found its way to my face and I hugged her. "It's probably just my imagination but…if it's not any better I'll go and see the doctor tomorrow ok?"

"That's probably a good idea dear." My mum said with a watery-eyed smile.

Even though I was the sick one, because I refuse to say dying, I was the one who looked after my mother. I made sure that everything was alright with her before I thought to care for myself, though she did a lot of that for me. We cared for each other equally. I couldn't bring myself to think about how she would survive when I… well, you get the idea.

The pain still hadn't disappeared by the time I woke up, so I decided to miss school for the day and go to the hospital. They took a blood test and did some MRIs and such before letting me go, telling me that the results would be in, in roughly three days.

I was worried. That was actually an understatement. I also felt bad because I'd left Ichirou-kun at school. After what he told me last night imagine how he must feel. Oh I feel so bad for leaving him alone there without an explanation. But I couldn't tell him the truth…that I might be sick again…imagine how much _that_ would hurt him. I could tell, the first time I saw him that he was like me… alone, wanting to make a new friend…if I left him… that would be heartbreaking, especially after he lost his parents last year. They say that life is cruel to those who don't deserve it, and he definitely doesn't deserve it. So, then I guess the saying is true. I'm not too worried about myself though because I've been through it once…I can do it again! And if you could see me now, you'd see me smiling again.

**A/N: Well you should all feel special. Two chapters in one day…. I just couldn't resist. I had the idea in my head and I just had to get it out there before I lost it. So…duh dah der dah…chapter 5…presented to you with widescreen Ruri-vision. **

**Tah tah. **


	6. The Truth

**A/N: So now for chapter six? Yes I think it's six. We're back in boring old Ichirou's point of view now. No he's not boring eheh ^.^; Don't kill me. **

**Yeah that's what I thought. Ahaha well, on with chapter 6 cause you don't need to hear me ramble. **

I didn't see Ruri the next day at school. I was worried previously that she'd been freaked out when she found out I was Kira, and now those suspicions were confirmed. I felt a sinking feeling on realisation of this…of the realisation that I may have lost an important person.

I didn't see her the next day either. The worry only built up as my head thought of all the possibilities of why she wasn't at school. It settled on some ones that I wasn't sure I liked, and one that would be more positive, but still not awesome. She was either no longer talking to me, or she was sick again. The third option was that she was at home looking after a sick relative or something. I guess I couldn't know until I saw her again, though I was aware I might not

The next day she returned to school. I sighed with relief when she started talking to me as though she hadn't been gone at all. When I asked her about her absence she smiled and said "I was looking after my mother, she got sick." Another relief, though I did feel bad for her mother. She looked down sadly after she'd said this. I couldn't peg why but there was no need to bother her about it. She has her reasons and she should be allowed to keep some things to herself.

In class I watched her carefully to make sure that she herself wasn't too rundown. I noticed that she was a bit paler and she always seemed to twist her hands around each other nervously. Again, I would have asked, but she would have just told me that she was worried about her mother.

At lunch we sat quietly, barely saying a word, which was worrying also because Ruri was always a chatter box. She looked at me for a long while and sighed, her sparkling eyes a bit dull. That was it; I couldn't just sit here and let it eat away at me anymore. "Ruri-chan, what's wrong? You don't seem yourself." She looked down at her hands, delicately folded in her lap. "I'm actually very myself at the moment…and that's the problem." She replied.

"Ruri-chan, are you ok?" She shook her head. "What is it?" I prompted. She let out another sigh. "Will you come to the hospital with me after school? I need your support." She should have known by now that she didn't have to ask.

"Of course I will. I do every other time."

"Yeah, but this time may be different." She muttered so quietly I wasn't sure I was supposed to hear her. She then smiled wide and ran off as the bell rang to go back to class.

* * *

I sat with her in the waiting room holding her hand gently like she'd asked me to. I could feel the bones in her hand and on closer inspection could see that she'd lost a bit of weight. "I lied." She said suddenly. "I wasn't looking after my mother. _I _was the sick one." I looked at her. It added up.

"So what are we really here for?" I asked.

"I'm getting my test results back."

I gave her hand a gentle squeeze to let her know that I'd be there for her and she smiled gratefully. A short while afterward we were called in to the doctor's office.

"Is it bad news?" She asked the instant we got to the door. The doctor shuffled some papers on his desk before asking us to sit. "Unfortunately it's not bad…it's worse than I thought. It's back, and has spread aggressively. I regret to say that it's inoperable." I think my heart stopped beating. If that's how I felt, imagine how she felt. She looked to me before looking back at the doctor. "How long…?" She asked. She didn't need to say the rest of the question for me to know what she was asking. I couldn't bear to think of it. "A few weeks…if you're lucky." The doctor replied. He looked about as sad as she did. I guess even though it's your job you never get used to it, telling people that they're going to die before they've even had much of a chance to live. Ruri held herself well for the remainder of the appointment; she was very calm though I guess she was used to this. Her eyes began to water as we stood up and as we were walking out of the corridor she let out a little sniff before bursting into tears. This was the first and last time I would ever see her cry like this. "I thought I'd be ready for this." She sniffed. "But I'm not. I haven't finished here yet…I have something to live for." I looked down at her, the sadness filling me to the point where it almost brought tears to my eyes.

As soon as we exited the hospital I pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly but not saying anything. What does one say at a time like this? The standard 'it'll be alright' doesn't really work in this case does it? "Thank-you." She mumbled into my jacket. "Thank-you for being there all the time, and for being my friend…" I realised what she was doing. She was getting ready to say goodbye. I wasn't ready for her to leave either.

I walked her back home, listening to the soft sound of her footsteps and trying to memorise it, remembering that soon I wouldn't be able to hear that sound anymore, or see her beautiful smile, her sparkling eyes. It was at that point that I realised I would miss her tremendously, and that I realised I loved her. I loved her more than I loved life and I probably wouldn't get the chance to tell her. I hugged her once more before watching her disappear with a teary smile into her house.

**A/N: Well I thought the next chapter would be the last one but I might have been wrong. Pah, I love the drama way too much for it to be healthy. **

**Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter… I liked writing it…**


	7. Flowers

**A/N: This is chapter 7. This story is now officially longer in word length than its original story. That's funny. Ok so this chapter may be short, but really it's just a lead up to the last chapter…or something like that…**

**Anywho, on with the fic…**

It's funny how time seems to speed up when there's something you're not looking forward to. A week had passed and it felt like it had only been a day, then another week followed, and another, and with each week that passed I was forced to watch Ruri's health deteriorate.

Going by what the doctor said, she should have been dead by now. Don't get me wrong, I was happy she was still alive, and I even held hope that he may have been wrong and she might get better.

I still hadn't told her that I loved her. Every minute we were together was like a blessing, but I watched her closely to make sure she would be ok. She was now the Ruri I had first seen so many months ago now. Her skin was paper white and her bones were beginning to become visible, yet she still smiled, and her eyes still sparkled when she was happy.

She was still coming to school for now, she refused to stay at home, or in a hospital. "I'm dying anyway, so I may as well enjoy the time I have left" She had said that so many times when we'd asked her if she was sure she wanted to do something that might further endanger her health, so now we just stopped asking.

Few people knew she was dying, a few teachers at the school, her mother and I all knew. We had decided to keep it quiet from the other students otherwise she might get overwhelmed. I guess it sounds over protective but she was everything to me, and anything I could do to keep her alive longer I would do. She was beginning to get things ready for when she left, though I knew she still wasn't ready to go.

About another week later a leak of her condition made its way around the student population, and so for the next few days she was spoken to by all the students, even the ones who previously had endeavoured to make her life hell. Its funny how death does that to people…makes them nicer that is.

* * *

That weekend, I took her out to a small café for lunch. It was her idea of course. As we neared it I realised that this was the café where my parents had first met. She led me to a table by the window so she could look outside at the sun shining on the rest of the world, even though hers at the moment was covered with clouds.

She ate a rather large meal, which I had seen her do countless times, which is why I couldn't help wondering why she was so thin, until she explained that everything she ate got fed to the tumour instead. "You know what?" She said, jumping up from the table energetically. "I want to go for a walk. Come on, it'll be fun." I couldn't resist that smile of hers so I got up, paid for the food and the drinks and we went for a walk around town. "I just wanted to get in as much sightseeing as I could" she said sadly "y'know, before I… die." You would think I'd be used to her saying that by now, but every time she said it, it cut like a knife. I put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to me as she swayed slightly so I could steady her. She shook her head lightly. "No good, I'm…" I never got to find out the rest of that sentence but I gathered the meaning when she fainted in my arms. I picked her up as carefully as I could, which was easy now, given that she weighed so little, and I took her to the hospital which thankfully was only a few blocks up the road.

* * *

She opened her eyes and looked dazed for a minute before she turned her head to look at me and she smiled. "Thank-you…again." She said in barely more than a whisper. "No problems…" I replied with a small smile of my own, which only seemed to make her smile more.

She held out a hand and I took it in mine, rubbing the back of her hand gently with my thumb. "I'm going to die soon." She said matter-of-factly and with such a calm voice anyone would think she didn't care. "Don't talk like that." I said. I must have sounded sadder than I thought because a crack appeared in her calm façade. "We both know it's true." She said quietly. "I'm going to miss so much about this place… The people, the flowers, you…" She looked away.

"Can you walk?" I asked suddenly. "I mean you don't have to walk far… just a little bit."

"What have you got planned?" She asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Ahh you'll just have to wait and see." I replied. "Wait here for a minute, k?"

"It's not like I'm going anywhere."

A short time later I arrived with a wheelchair. She looked at me, confused, before getting up and dragging her IV with her to the wheelchair and sitting in it. "Where are you taking me?"

"Can't tell you. It's a surprise." She laughed at this. I loved her laugh…and her ability to laugh, even when things were bad. "Ooh I love surprises."

It was a bit difficult to get her out of the hospital, especially with the IV, but we got it sorted soon enough. I took the long way, though I know I had to get her back before people noticed that she was missing. "Ok close your eyes." I said, making sure she wasn't peeking. Another few minutes later I wheeled her off the path and into the park, stopping the chair in front of the flowers she loved so much. "You can open them now." I said. I couldn't see her face from behind, but she gasped, and I could tell she was smiling. "Oh, thank-you so much Ichirou-kun!" She said with a very happy voice. "This means a lot to me."

"I know it does. I thought you might like to see them…" I said as she stood carefully from the wheelchair and walked up to the flowers.

She knelt in front of them in her white dress and looked to me with the happiest smile I'd seen her give yet. "Aren't they so beautiful?" Not as beautiful as you. "Yes, very beautiful." I stood there for a bit, just smiling at her, trying to restrain how sad it was to see that she wouldn't get to kneel here like this again and look at these flowers. "Ichirou-kun, come here and kneel with me!" She demanded with her pretty smile.

I helped her pick some flowers, and when she was ready helped her back into her wheel chair so I could take her back. She carried the bunch of flowers proudly in her arms. "These will make my boring white room easier to stay in." She said with a giggle.

As soon as we got back we placed the flowers in the empty vase that stood on her nightstand. "Much better." She said with a yawn.

"You need sleep." I said, stroking her light brown hair. "I should go." She grabbed my hand almost fearfully. "Don't leave! Please?"

"Ok, I won't go anywhere." I said, holding her hand as she closed her eyes and drifted off.

**So much for this being short! It's the longest chapter yet pahaha.**

**Well I guess I wanted to convey that little Ruri can still have some fun, even though she knows she doesn't have long left. **

**So the next chapter is the last. So sad. But it will be good to finally put this story to rest. Oh no pun intended. **

**I'm so silly sometimes.**


	8. All Dreams Must End

**A/N: SO here we are. Finally at the last chapter. This is my longest story yet, chapter wise. Strange that the original story wasn't longer than its sequel but either way…**

I woke up, the sheets of Ruri's bed stuck to the side of my face, my hand still in hers. She was sleeping so peacefully that I thought she must have passed away during the night. I looked over to the heart monitor to see if she was still alive, and it was still beeping away. I sighed in relief.

A short time afterward she woke up and looked at me with a soft smile. "You stayed." She smiled even wider.

"Of course I did. I promised I would."

She let out a laugh that turned into more of a cough and asked for some water, which I got for her. She didn't have long left. I could tell that she knew this too. "I'm so glad that I met you." She said with her smile still fixed in place. "You made my life fun for a while and…" She trailed off. "You made me happy to be alive." She laugh-coughed again and let out a breath. "Ouch." She said with a fainter smile. "You shouldn't talk so much." I said in a soft, caring voice… of all the times to be a chatter-box… "But I have to say these things before I die. You need to know that I care about you very much and…" this time she was cut off by her mother entering the room. "Hi mum."

The atmosphere was quiet for the next few hours. Ruri drifted in and out of consciousness the entire time. "I'll be back shortly." Her mother said to me at around midday. I presumed she was going to go and get some food. Ruri was still unconscious at this point, but about a minute after her mother left she was awake again. "Oh no." She said with a worried expression. "It…it's time." I looked at her for a little while, puzzled, until my mind put the pieces together. "No, no, you can't die yet. You've got to stick with me. Your mother isn't even here."

"I don't think I've got a choice." She said faintly. I shook my head, tears forming in my eyes. "You can't go yet. I don't want you to die. I…" Well now was as good a time as any…"I love you, Ruri-chan!" I said, struggling to keep back the tears. She just smiled widely. How can someone smile when they know that they're about to die, when they know that they're saying goodbye to everyone and everything…? "Thank-you for telling me." She said. I noticed that her heartbeat was beginning to slow. "Can you do me…one last favour…?" She asked in a breathy voice. I nodded. "Anything…"

"Can I kiss you?" I wasn't expecting that, but I leaned in and kissed her gently, her hand resting on the side of my face. "I'm ready to die now." She said so weakly that I almost didn't hear it. She held her hand out for mine again and I held it. Her skin was already getting cold.

Her mother walked back in the room and placed a hand over her mouth. She was an older version of Ruri, and I couldn't help but wonder if that's what Ruri would have looked like if she'd been allowed the chance to live past today. "Goodbye, Ichirou-kun, mother, I love you both very…very…much…" She said with her trademark smile, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Her eyelids closed slowly over still sparkling eyes, forcing the droplets down her cheeks. She opened them just a crack and let out a little laugh before they closed again, her limp hand slipping out of mine and landing back on the bed. I heard her exhale once more and then it was over… she was gone.

I reached out with my hand and gently brushed the tear off both of her cheeks, my hand lingering on her cold cheek for a moment. Her mother soon put her hand on my shoulder with a gentle smile, tears coursing silently down her cheeks, as they were down mine. "Why?" I asked.

Her mother just continued to smile. "The good are always taken before their time." She said gently. "We must make the best out the time we have with them, and treasure the memories we made. I'm happy to see that Ruri finally got her peace."

* * *

The sun was shining. It would have made Ruri happy for it to be shining like this when she was buried. "Rest in peace Ruri-chan." I whispered as she was lowered into the ground. I threw in some flowers that I picked from the park and I could just picture her smiling face as she saw them.

I walked back from the cemetery and I stopped for a minute and turned around. I thought I'd heard her footsteps following me. I saw a little girl with light brown hair running along to catch up with her mother. I don't know what on earth possessed me to think she might be standing there with her pretty little smile, but I could just imagine her doing that.

I walked past the park next. Would my route home continue to torment me like this? I stopped for a few minutes in the park, standing where I stood only yesterday, watching Ruri's awed face as she reached out a tentative hand to touch the flower. Just by standing here I could picture her there again, looking at me with delight. The memory made me smile sadly before I walked off, not taking notice of anything else along the route until I was finally closed up in my living room. I couldn't even be in my room without being reminded of where she sat there in the chair, scared out of her wits when she saw Ryuuk for the first time.

I watched the news, seeing another murderer broadcast on the news, and the plea from the family for Kira to exact justice on the man that killed their daughter. He claimed it was accidental, but I, as Kira, had to deal with him. I had the pen poised above the book, ready to write the name down. I was about to begin but watching the faces of the killer's family made me stop. "I can't do this anymore." I said, letting the pen fall from my hand, placing my hands over my face. All of these criminals I killed were precious to someone. They were to someone what Ruri was to me. I couldn't inflict that pain on anyone else, knowing now just how horrible it felt to lose someone that you loved so much. "You got boring, kid." Ryuuk said from behind me. I knew what he was planning to do and I didn't care. "Do it." I said. At least with my death, there would be no more fear…no more paranoia in the world…and more predominately, no more Kira, though perhaps someone else would take my place.

I heard the scratching sound of a pencil on paper and counted down the seconds until I died. The last thing I saw, even as I was dying, was Ruri's smiling face.

All dreams must end. Ruri's dreams, my father's dreams, my dreams… All dreams must end.

**A/N: Woo finished. Ahahahaha I'm glad this is finished and I'm glad it went on for longer than I thought it would. **

**It's been fun writing this and when I started the original story I had no idea I'd even get to carry it this far. It's been so much fun. Thankyou all for reading, and an extra special thankyou to everyone who reviewed. Your positive feedback really did help. Especially after chapter 2…when I was thinking about giving the story up. **

**Much love to everyone…**

**Shadow. **


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